THE ICONIC Channel 4 logo, which stands 50ft tall outside the broadcaster's London headquarters, has been given a breath of fresh air by a former Kingston University student.

Last year 24 year old fashion graduate Hannah Gourlay, won a competition to come up with a fun and playful design for the 'Big 4', which is located outside the offices in Horseferry Road, Westminster, which would entertain passers-by, visitors and staff.

Hannah wanted to bring the landmark to life so came up with a design that would see every section of the 50 foot skeleton covered in fabric, and gently inflated and deflated to give the appearance of it breathing.

Her design, entitled 'Time to Breathe' has now been inflated after 10 months of work, in which she collaborated with structural engineers to bring her idea to life.

She said: "Seeing the finished design was such an amazing feeling. In the early stages I made an inflatable cube with a light inside it and put it on top of my fridge. My housemate stood behind the fridge and breathed in and out of it. Most of the fabrics I'd considered using weren't strong enough to cope with the wind. It had to be a material which could withstand 15 months of breathing – without getting pulled out of shape. We ended up using Dartex, a fabric that's normally used to coat the mattresses in hospital beds."

At night it is lit from within to create a gentle glow that slowly lightens and darkens in time with the 'breaths'.

Sculptor Maurice Bilk, who was on judging panel, said: "Hannah's idea was quite subtle and had a real charm about it. We felt it didn't fall into the trap of being a garish neon sign, it was more sophisticated."

The steel structure was first erected outside the offices in 2007, and the broadcaster initially invited established artists to devise imaginative ways of decorating and lighting the logo.